i came upon this recipe in 2004 while searching for the perfect Strawberry Shortcake to make for my husband's grandmother's 70th birthday. Strawberry Shortcake is her favorite, and she said this was the best she'd ever had! the cake is not spongy like angel food cake. it has the flavor of a delicious waffle, but more dense and crumbly.

Shortcakes:2c. flour1Tbs. baking powder2 Tbs sugar10 Tbs (1/2c. + 2Tbs) COLD butter1/2 tsp. salt.3/4c heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks preheat oven to 425. stir together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder. using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in butter to pea-sized chunks. stir in heavy cream to form a soft dough. turn onto lightly floured surface (may be crumbly). knead a little to help it stick. separate into two balls. (i make one slightly smaller. i use this as the top so it doesn't smoosh all the filling out of the sides ) flatten balls in 2, well-buttered, 9-in round pans.(not all the way to edges) bake for 13-14 minutes, until golden brown.removed to cooling racks. spread 1Tbs. butter on the top of designated bottom cake, and 1Tbs. the bottom of top cake. cool.

to assemble: spread 1/3 of whipped cream on top of bottom cake. spread filling (you may want to strain off some of the juice and set aside for drizzling),top with another 1/3 of whipped cream. add top cake. top with remaining whipped cream and sliced remaining strawberries (or you can use extra strawberries in the filling and save some for the top) DEVOUR!

the release of Jem and the Holograms on dvd was so perfect for me. not only could i watch all the episodes in better quality than my old, worn vhs, but i could also expose my kids to the greatness! having 3 girls, who had heard that the Misfits songs are better, they wanted to dress as the Misfits for halloween. luckily, jo-ann's had all the perfect fabric, and we found some awesome wigs on ebay.

jealous of a friends sweet wolf-faced ear flap hat, i was determined to make my own. it worked out nicely that i was able to find some beautiful and soft midnight blue fur, so i could also tie my hood into the anime series Wolf's Rain, which i absolutely love. modified a pattern (Mccall's 8953) made the bottom front angle away from the face a bit more, and winged the ears with a little help from Threadbangers animal hood tute. both the fur side of the ears, and the silky inner ear lining were reinforced with two layers of interfacing. also, zebra print lining...just 'cause.

inspired by a recent addiction to zombie killing, i decided to dress as Rochelle from Left 4 Dead 2. found a plastic machete for $3. a belt and pants at goodwill. stenciled the Depeche Mode pic on a pink T-shirt. (giant men's shirt cut down to fit using another shirt as a pattern).

and made a health kit. it became more detailed as i wanted to make it something i could actually use.

i modified it with a zipper instead of strap on the top. opens to main compartment, with pocket on the back panel.

each front zip goes to a separate pocket, which overlaps underneath, enclosed lining

hand painted around outlined letters and cross on front (took FOREVER!), and a strap on bottom. recycled straps, foam for back panel, and main (double open) zipper. enclosed seams with biased tape. lots of interfacing to keep it's shape.

here are three costume i made for my kids this year. my oldest wanted to be a vampire princess. luckily i had the perfect fabric (ripped off of a dress from goodwill 10 years ago!), once turned inside out. i used one of her shirts as a pattern, marked the length i needed, and also traced around the sides of a skirt for the bottom half of the dress. i made her cape, and the cape for my next oldest daughter's costume, out of a flowy skirt i made that was too big now. each half became a cape, those annoying strings on the inside of shirts to help them stay on hangers make great ties!

my next wanted to be bunnicula. (i absolutely loved that book when i was little). made some ears out of furry white fabric, with scrap pink t-shirt fabric for the "insides." molded them with doubled pipe cleaners and stuffed lightly with batting, attached a hoodie. (i had to make darts on the side of the hood to make it fit her face more, which helped keep the ears up) widows peak made from an old black t shirt. we also painted some plastic vegetables white and glued them in a pet bowl.

youngest daughter wanted to go as her imaginary friend Bluey. made a skirt from an old dress, added stripes with ribbons. made a vest out of blue fleece (patterned from a jacket) made a 2-inch stripe, with a 1/4 in ribbon center. black shoes painted blue with Brush-On Twinkles.